Monday, April 7, 2008
Europe: In Conclusion
This trip was one I won't soon forget. I still can't believe that I was able to go and experience such a wonderful taste of what God is doing with the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe! The Roma are hungering and thirsting for God and He is filling their cups and their souls with the milk and honey of His Word. I stand amazed at what God can do through a life surrendered...watching men like Daniel and Jerry inspire me. I pray that I am as willing to say yes when God calls me to such heights (or depths for that matter). I am thankful to Fuge for the opportunity to serve on this trip. I pray that because these stories will be told at camps nationwide this summer that more Roma will come to know our great God.
Poland
Monday January 21st we got to the airport at 6 in the morning to get Lorie on her flight but our flight didn't leave until ten. I fell asleep for a few hours across some chairs and we finally arrived in Poland around 3. Jerry Goss picked us up and it was an immediate friendship. The Goss family has been serving in Poland for four years and their ministry will be our prayer focus this summer. Let me just go ahead and tell you that the Goss family is awesome. They were gracious hosts whose passion for the Lord and desire to reach the Roma became evident in minutes.
They took us to a Roma home in the city in an old Communist apartment block and we met with a sweet family that hosted prayer and Bible study in their home. They live in one of the most dangerous areas and yet they cover their humble home with prayer and the word of God. We prayed with and for these brothers and sisters and heard their testimonies and how God was moving in their lives today.
The next day we went to the village and met with more believers. We heard a heart wrenching testimony of how one family has lost two children, and their third child is ill and not expected to survive, yet they trust that God has their lives in His hands. They continue to serve and believe and hope for more healthy children. Please pray for baby Zachariah. The doctors have done what they can but we know the Great Physician can do so much more!
Please lift up Jerry and his family as well. He has 5 daughters, 2 are stateside and the other three serve with him and his wife Brenda. Their commitment to the Lord and his work is humbling and challenging and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have spent time with them.
They took us to a Roma home in the city in an old Communist apartment block and we met with a sweet family that hosted prayer and Bible study in their home. They live in one of the most dangerous areas and yet they cover their humble home with prayer and the word of God. We prayed with and for these brothers and sisters and heard their testimonies and how God was moving in their lives today.
The next day we went to the village and met with more believers. We heard a heart wrenching testimony of how one family has lost two children, and their third child is ill and not expected to survive, yet they trust that God has their lives in His hands. They continue to serve and believe and hope for more healthy children. Please pray for baby Zachariah. The doctors have done what they can but we know the Great Physician can do so much more!
Please lift up Jerry and his family as well. He has 5 daughters, 2 are stateside and the other three serve with him and his wife Brenda. Their commitment to the Lord and his work is humbling and challenging and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have spent time with them.
Day 6-Romania
I am sitting in a Romanian church viewing and experiencing worship in a primitive form. Several members of our team have preached through Alex, our fantastic interpreter. I was able to perform "Worthy of Glory" earlier and Alex translated. It was a very sweet experience. Mijhai smiled at me the whole time!
The past several days have been wonderful! We arrived in Romania on Friday after a rather interesting flight. Let's just say that there was so much luggage for the flight that half of the suitcases were put in the cabin. I was originally sitting in the back of the plane and got bumped to "first class" to make room for the bags. And by first class I mean the first seat on the plane. :) We were taken to the Hotel Christian as soon as we arrived and I'll never forget the feeling of darkness I felt in the street. We settled in and Daniel, the M for the region, took us to a really cute pizza place for dinner. We had fantastic conversation and then filmed Daniel's interview in the restaurant. We got a walking tour of Cluj after dinner and then hit the hay to get ready for the next day.
We loaded up early and went to the village where the four students we prayed for last year live. We found Alex, Adam, Mijhai and Mirela easily and spent a wonderful few hours getting to know them and conducting a follow up interview. We played in the snow and they taught me how to ask questions in Romanian. They were so much fun! When I asked them what their favorite things to do where their list included things like, "read the Bible," "sing songs to Jesus," and "memorize Bible verses."
After we left that village we went to another village to minister to a young woman who was pregnant when Daniel left on furlough. All he knew was that she was pregnant and the only believer in her village. It was a miracle we found her! We drove around and Alex just asked people on the street if they knew who we were talking about! We finally found her and she had had the baby, a son named Stalion. We were able to pray with her and for her child and encourage her family. We had to hike up a hill of mud to get to her house and we removed our shoes in freezing weather so we wouldn't track mud in their meager home. Her family was so incredibly gracious...when we were leaving the men of the family laid cardboard down for us to walk on and they had laid out our shoes in pairs! It was so sweet to see their desire to serve.
And this brings me back to Sunday, our last day in Romania. We had lunch at the church and then another lunch at the pastor's house! While we were at Pastor Florine's Daniel told him and his wife that my birthday was the next day. Florine pulled out his accordion and he and his wife sang Happy Birthday to me in Romanian! It was so cute! Later that night our team plus the World Changer team got together at McDonald's and Daniel surprised me with a mini birthday party filled with ice cream sundae's and apple pies. It was definitely a birthday to remember!
The past several days have been wonderful! We arrived in Romania on Friday after a rather interesting flight. Let's just say that there was so much luggage for the flight that half of the suitcases were put in the cabin. I was originally sitting in the back of the plane and got bumped to "first class" to make room for the bags. And by first class I mean the first seat on the plane. :) We were taken to the Hotel Christian as soon as we arrived and I'll never forget the feeling of darkness I felt in the street. We settled in and Daniel, the M for the region, took us to a really cute pizza place for dinner. We had fantastic conversation and then filmed Daniel's interview in the restaurant. We got a walking tour of Cluj after dinner and then hit the hay to get ready for the next day.
We loaded up early and went to the village where the four students we prayed for last year live. We found Alex, Adam, Mijhai and Mirela easily and spent a wonderful few hours getting to know them and conducting a follow up interview. We played in the snow and they taught me how to ask questions in Romanian. They were so much fun! When I asked them what their favorite things to do where their list included things like, "read the Bible," "sing songs to Jesus," and "memorize Bible verses."
After we left that village we went to another village to minister to a young woman who was pregnant when Daniel left on furlough. All he knew was that she was pregnant and the only believer in her village. It was a miracle we found her! We drove around and Alex just asked people on the street if they knew who we were talking about! We finally found her and she had had the baby, a son named Stalion. We were able to pray with her and for her child and encourage her family. We had to hike up a hill of mud to get to her house and we removed our shoes in freezing weather so we wouldn't track mud in their meager home. Her family was so incredibly gracious...when we were leaving the men of the family laid cardboard down for us to walk on and they had laid out our shoes in pairs! It was so sweet to see their desire to serve.
And this brings me back to Sunday, our last day in Romania. We had lunch at the church and then another lunch at the pastor's house! While we were at Pastor Florine's Daniel told him and his wife that my birthday was the next day. Florine pulled out his accordion and he and his wife sang Happy Birthday to me in Romanian! It was so cute! Later that night our team plus the World Changer team got together at McDonald's and Daniel surprised me with a mini birthday party filled with ice cream sundae's and apple pies. It was definitely a birthday to remember!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Keep coming back for more!
I have more entries and am working on the getting the pictures up soon! Please keep checking back for more stories from Europe! The initial trailer is also complete and I'll try to get that posted soon as well. Thanks for reading!
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